Ferrero is hoping to end a dire start to 2010
Ferrero is a former finalist in Costa do Sauipe, back in 2007 and he is top seed this week but he is far from a safe bet to win the tournament as he is yet to win a match this year, suffering first round defeats in Auckland and Melbourne.
The field is quite weak with only the top two seeds ranked in the top thirty.
A good bet for the title might be third seed Thomaz Bellucci who reached the final last year and is in the form of his life having just beating Fernando Gonzalez in Santiago to make the final there.
Richard Gasquet’s comeback trail continues and he is the eighth seed this week. The Frenchman has opted for the weaker fields in South America rather than compete indoors in the States or Europe. It is an interesting decision as Gasquet has tended to enjoy better results indoors rather than on clay but we will see if it pays dividends.